


simple and plain and not much to ask from somebody

by impravidus



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Attempt at Humor, Banter, Cute Kids, Dead Michelle Jones, Domestic Fluff, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Harley Keener is a Good Dad, Humor, M/M, Oblivious, Past Abuse, Peter Parker is a Good Dad, Single Parents, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Widowed, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24843724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impravidus/pseuds/impravidus
Summary: Single parents, Peter Parker and Harley Keener, find their paths crossed when their sons become best friends. Featuring really good food, mashed potato hospital trips, and friendly banter, will they find more in their parental bonding?
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 63
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [просто и очевидно и не так много, чтобы просить от кого-то](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24889366) by [captainhook](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainhook/pseuds/captainhook)



“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”

Peter chuckled as his son jumped on top of him, catapulting him onto the couch. “Be careful, bud. You might knock over something.”

“You wouldn’t  _ believe  _ the day I had today!”

Peter picked up the big, brown eyed boy and propped him up on his knee. “Well you better tell me all about it.”

“Kindergarten is awesome! Mrs. Robison was so super awesome, and I got my very own cubby, and Mrs. Robison read us this awesome book about this cat who wore a sombrero, and at recess I read my book, and the other kids looked at me funny but that’s okay because I finished my book, and it was awesome! And then at lunch I had to sit at the allergy table, but I wasn’t alone! There was this boy, and his name is Ollie, and he has a dog named Barbara, and he likes  _ Power Rangers _ , and his favorite color is green, and he has a green  _ Power Rangers  _ lunch box, and he had these awesome granola balls that were nut free. I know they were nut free because I read them and also because he has a nut allergy which means that we can share food and I’ll be okay, except he has a gluten sen-si-ti-vi-ty, so he can’t always have my snacks, but if you pack me gluten free snacks then we can! He has really really really blonde hair, and it’s shiny in the sun, and he has dimples which is  _ so cool! _ But I have freckles and he doesn’t have them, and he thought that was cool.”

Peter nodded, still processing the hyperspeed ramble. “That sounds great! I’m so glad you had a great day!”

“Hi, sweetie,” May greeted, kissing Peter on the head.

“Hey, May. Thanks for always being here for Ben. It’s been a long day at the labs.”

“Anything for my favorite grandson and my favorite nephew,” she said with a crinkly smile. 

“You staying for dinner?” Peter asked.

“I would, but Happy and I were gonna go out tonight.”

He nodded. “Tell him me and the kids said hi?”

“Of course.” She gave him a light squeeze. “I love you, baby.”

He smiled softly. “Love you too.”

“Where’s Mabel?” Ben asked loudly, head snapping back and forth as he searched for his twin sister.

As if on cue, a big head of dark curls ran over, jumping on top of both her brother and her father.

“Careful, pumpkin. You know Benny is fragile,” Peter said firmly.

“I’m not fragile!” Ben pouted.

“Sorry, kiddo. You’re right.” He pressed a gentle kiss to his hair, Benny spluttering in disgust.

“How was your first day of school?!” Benny asked Mabel.

“Mr. Greenwood and I read a bunch of books together! And then Dr. Cho and I did more physicals. And I had leftover meatloaf for lunch.”

“So did I!” Benny exclaimed excitedly.

As he went to repeat his same spiel that he had just said to his father, Peter just watched with a soft smile.

It all started with MJ. He and MJ were high school sweethearts. After their hectic trip to Europe, stolen kisses on the way to battle, and a very close call with his identity nearly being revealed to the public (but luckily, was caught before it was broadcasted), they had found a serenity in each other’s presence.

However, when the two separated for college, Peter at NYU and MJ to Harvard, they took a long break. At least, until they ran into each other again at their high school’s ten year high school reunion.

By then, Peter had received his pHd in chemical and biomedical engineering, and had a comfortable job in R&D at Stark Industries that Tony had left the opportunity for him along with his nightly side gig as Spider-Man and mentor for the new generation of heroes. He was finding his place in the strange world of adulthood, but mostly, he was just rolling with the punches and going in blind. 

So, wearing a button down (that actually fit!), a tastefully patterned tie (or at least, he hoped), and black dress pants with a vest to match, he entered the halls of Midtown School of Science and Technology, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

He spent most of his time glued to Ned by the hip, just like he had in high school. The two stayed close throughout college, and stayed even closer when Ned became the official tech guru for the Young Avengers. 

It wasn’t until he caught sight of MJ, bright neon lights glowing against her dark hair and reflecting off her white pantsuit, did he finally leave Ned’s side.

Catching up with her was brilliant. It felt like time had stopped moving. She went to Harvard, majoring in political science, and then law school. She focused on pro bono cases for underprivileged youth, and was a political activist in her free time, owning one of the fastest growing political blogs. 

She was just as fiery and passionate and snarky as he remembered her, and he fell fast.

Though MJ may not have been one for simple domestic life, she still settled down with Peter, a nice penthouse in the city close to her firm and his lab, and for years, they both tried desperately for a child.

They went to doctors, all of them saying that there was no signs of infertility, who gave them timetables and schedules and perfect times for it to work, but none of them stuck.

That was, until a fateful April evening, rain drizzling against their windows, when MJ pulled out the pregnancy test with two lines.

Despite her persistent protests, Peter treated her with care and caution. He swaddled her in blankets when she was cold and rubbed her feet every night and made sure he didn’t eat any foods she couldn’t have so she wouldn’t feel alienated. He cooked her healthy dinners and did late night trips to the frozen yogurt shop when she got her cravings and even indulged in chocolate pudding and shrimp that she couldn’t stop thinking about.

But, his world was rocked when she had the babies. They were both premature. Benny was sickly and thin and weak. Bad lungs, bad heart. And Mabel? She had inherited more from Peter than they had ever imagined.

A newborn with the strength to lift a freightcar, kicked while she was still in the womb, rupturing her mother’s internal organs from the inside. 

The babies got out, alive and well, but MJ… she... 

She didn’t make it.

“Dr. Cho liked my new light up sneakers! She said they’re very good for running and give me incentive to do my laps,” Mabel said, arms on her hips proudly.

“How many laps did you do today?” Peter asked.

“I ran half a mile today! Yesterday I didn’t get to half a mile but I did today. I think it’s because of my new shoes.”

Peter nodded. “Must’ve been.”

With his twelve weeks of paternity leave, Peter was spending his days in the Avengers Compound medbay’s makeshift neonatal ICU. 

With Mabel under close watch for her undetermined set of powers and Benny barely holding on with his atrial septal defect and newborn respiratory distress syndrome, Peter was running himself ragged with worry.

And he didn’t get a moment to process. A moment to grieve. He had to put a brave face and care for the only thing that mattered. The only things that mattered. His kids.

That first year, when Peter had to return to work, Benny spent most of his time with his Mimi May and Mabel spent her time in the medbay, getting an abundance of attention from doctors that balanced their tests with adequate amounts of physical affection. However, after a doctor got a shattered collarbone from a misplaced tiny infant hand, they had to get armored nurses.

Peter held the two as much as he could, trying to build a strong bond with them, but he knew it wasn’t enough. If MJ was there, then maybe they’d…

He tried his best to introduce the two to each other and give them time to bond, but Ben was fragile and Mabel had strength she couldn’t control yet. 

But they loved each other so much. Ben brought out a prudence in Mabel. She was gentle and kind and careful with Ben. It was then that Peter knew that he should never and could never keep them separate, despite the danger.

And they were inseparable from the moment they got together. When they were together, they were just normal kids. Normal kids who loved baths with extra bubbles with rubber duckies that they splashed around in the waves and slobbered over Gerbers Puffs and nibbled on the soft plush tentacles on their stuffed squids. 

Mabel was still an enigma to be understood. Like Peter, she needed nearly ridiculous portions to keep her the healthy, chubby cheeked baby she was. She had a tendency to stick to things, especially to Peter when he tried to put her down for naps. She could crush titanium with her bare hands (they learned after she crumbled the leg of the coffee table like a piece of aluminum foil and nearly had the glass tabletop fall on her little head). 

She was fast and energetic and limber. She was in great health, unlike her ailing brother, and despite her powers, she was progressing like a normal baby.

Benny was a whole different ballpark. Whether it be frequent trips to the medbay with pneumonia or the case of meningitis that left him deaf in his right ear or the hole in his heart or his bad lungs, there was always something new with Benny.

And then there was his severe peanut allergy.

One of his snacks was made on the same equipment as peanuts and he broke out into hives, his lips tripling in size, tongue growing as Peter rushed him to the medbay.

So, anything peanut or peanut related disappeared from the Parker household.

Peter wouldn’t say that he was a helicopter parent, but that was exactly what he was.

It was hard not to be when you had children like his.

“Do you munchkins wanna help me get dinner ready?” Peter asked.

Their eyes went wide.

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

He laughed. “Go get your hands washed, and I’ll set up your stations.”

One of their favorite family bonding rituals was making dinner together. It was something that kept the kids busy and focused where they could also jam out to music and talk about whatever was on their minds.

Peter wasn’t the best chef until he met MJ, when she made it very clear that she was not going to be a doting housewife. So, he got the hang of it. He made the dinner every night and perfected the craft, and he thanked whatever Gods were in the sky for it everyday because it was one less thing to be lost with when it came to his kids. 

He tried to treat them with as much normality as he could. The last thing he wanted was for his children to feel different and outcast. So, despite his coddling and overprotectiveness, he let them live as much as he could.

Though Benny couldn’t run around the park and Mabel couldn’t do the monkey bars (her unreliably overpowered grip still being too risky), they did enjoy the swings. While Mabel enjoyed spending her time jumping and dancing around the apartment, Benny rattled his tambourine (mostly) (as close as he could) to the beat. Mabel had to do daily physicals, running obstacle courses and honing her powers, and Benny was often on bedrest, nose deep in his books, big goggles of glasses perched on his nose.

In a way, Mabel and Ben may seem like opposites. But in their differences, they found balance.

Mabel was filled with endless creativity. She put on plays, stories concocted from the depths of her imagination. She sang songs and danced complicated (well as complicated as a three year old could get) routines. And while she told stories, Ben helped her create the worlds. He built her elaborate sets made of cardboard and tinfoil. Costumes made with scraps, props made from trash. He was like his father. Innovative and making do with what he had.

Benny read his picture books to Mabel when they were huddled in their beds, illustrating the plots with perfect inflection and excitement that got the cogs in her mind turning for the next story she’d make. His vast knowledge of literature helped her craft her next masterpiece.

Mable was smart, and she knew the boundaries that were in place when it came to Benny. She knew that she and Benny were built differently. That she was stronger than he could ever be, and he was weaker than he should be. She always stood on his left so that he could hear her, and when his left ear was clogged, they signed together. She was patient when he couldn’t move as fast as her or had to take his inhaler. She double checked every food that he ate and she made it very clear to waiters at restaurants that her little (little by three minutes) brother had a nut allergy (“and he could die if he eats nuts so don’t put it in no matter what you do because he can  _ die _ ”) and a lactose intolerance (though she still had trouble saying lactose intolerance). 

And Ben was patient. He was young and didn’t truly understand everything about Mabel and her powers, but he knew enough. He knew that it was a secret, and he knew how to keep secrets. He was actually quite good at keeping secrets! Like that one time Mimi May helped him and Mabel make Daddy a scrapbook full of all of their favorite memories and they had  _ a lot  _ of pictures because Daddy took so many photos all the time and sometimes it was _ so annoying _ because “c’mon, Daddy, we’re just eating ice cream and going to the park” but he smiled so so so wide when he got it because he and Mabel kept the secret for the whole month before his birthday, and he was so happy that he cried, and it was totally worth it.

But, as much as Peter wished he could give Mabel the normal childhood she deserved, she had to stay in homeschooling, not only to protect herself and the truth of her abilities, but to also incorporate as much of her usual physical schedule as possible because at three years old, she was nowhere near being ready to be around a room of people without someone monitoring her.

But, when September rolled around, bright eyed, three (whole) years old Benny was heading into preschool, Winnie the Pooh backpack on his back and his light up sketchers on his feet.

To his relief, and also his disappointment, Benny walked into the school with ease, no waterworks or begging to stay with his father, and when he came home he had the brightest, toothiest grin.

Benny didn’t make many friends in preschool, not for lack of trying. He was actually a well spoken, charismatic kid who loved other people. But, his maturity meant that he had trouble connecting with his peers, especially when many of them didn’t have the appreciation for Benny’s interests, like reading. In fact, most of his peers couldn’t read yet.

However, despite his advanced intellect, he enjoyed preschool. He liked the structure and the interaction and the arts and crafts. But, what he most looked forward to was coming home and spending time with his sister and father.

“Since it’s a special occasion, I was thinking I could let you two choose dinner.”

“What are our choices?” Mabel asked inquisitively. 

“We can have tacos, personal pizzas, or spaghetti and meatballs,” Peter said.

Mabel and Benny locked eyes.

“Pizza!!!!”

“Well, lucky for you, I’ve got all your favorite toppings to choose from,” Peter said, heading to the fridge.

“I call the bacon!” Benny declared.

“No! I want bacon!” Mabel argued.

“We’ve got enough bacon for everyone,” Peter reassured. “And Benny, I got you extra dairy free cheese.”

“Thank yooouuuu!” He sang.

“Mabel, don’t eat all the cheese. You won’t have any left for your pizza.”

“Fine.”


	2. Chapter 2

Soon enough, they fell back into the routine of school. Early mornings making sure everyone is brushed (teeth and hair), clothes are on the right way, and everything is in their backpacks before a healthy breakfast (this morning was parfaits featuring strawberries, blueberries, vanilla yogurt, and those nut free granola that Benny’s friend had recommended). However, Benny was uncharacteristically quiet as he ate.

“What’s on your mind, kiddo?” Peter questioned.

“Well, it’s almost the weekend,” he said, still staring at his bowl.

“Uh huh,” Peter said slowly, encouraging him to continue.

“Well, I… uh… uhm… I was wondering if I could ask my friend Ollie to come over and play?”

Peter smiled so wide, his cheeks hurt, but quickly masked the excitement with a neutral expression. “Well, that’s fine with me. As long as it’s okay with his parents, then I don’t see why not.”

Benny looked up. “Really?!”

“Of course,” Peter reassured. “But, how about we meet up at the park so I can get to know his parents before he comes over here?”

Benny nodded his head so fast that Peter could tell he was making himself dizzy.

“I’ll write you a note for Ollie to take to his parents and we’ll work from there, alright?”

Benny grinned, yogurt mustache above his lips. “Okay!”

It was another long day at the labs, and Peter was on his way to pick up Mabel from the Compound when he was getting a call from an unknown number. He almost didn’t answer until he remembered about the note he left in Benny’s lunchbox.

“This is Parker,” he answered.

“Hi. Is this Benny Parker’s dad?” The smooth, rich voice asked.

Peter’s breath hitched in his throat. “I… uh, yes this is. Peter Parker. I’m guessing this is Ollie’s dad?”

“Harley Keener,” he introduced. “Ollie has not stopped talking about your son.”

“Same to yours. He’s…” Peter paused. “Benny’s had some trouble making friends, so I was relieved to find out how much he was clicking with Ollie.”

“We just moved up from Tennessee, so I was real worried about Ollie making new friends, but Benny’s just been so kind and accommodating.”

“I’m glad to hear,” Peter admitted.

“So, the boys wanta get together this weekend.”

Peter bobbed his head. “Yeah. It was all Benny could talk about the drive to the school this morning.”

Harley chuckled. “And Ollie was begging me to call you as soon as we got home from running errands after school, but then dinner rolled around and I figured I’d get some food in him before calling. Hope I’m not interrupting anythin’.”

“Not at all. I’m just heading home after work.”

“Great. Great.”

There was a moment of silence before Peter broke it as he cleared his throat. “So, uh, playdate. I’ve never really scheduled one of these before, so I’m not really sure what to do. I… I would’ve had him come over to ours, but I was hoping I could meet you in person, get to know you a little before he…”

“No, no. I’m the same way. Don’t worry about it. Besides, a little fresh air sounds nice.”

Peter grinned. “Yeah. It does.” He got into his car, switching to the bluetooth. “Does Washington Square Park sound good with you? I don’t know about Ollie, but Benny’s got some bad asthma so he’s not the running around, sports type. But, he does love playing with toys, and he loves sharing, so I’m sure…”

“You’re really not used to this kind of thing, huh?”

“No. I’m really not.”

He laughed. “Kids find their own fun. Just being together is enough for them. It’s free reign for their imaginations to just run wild. Plus, if Benny’s not allergic, I’d love to bring our dog.”

“Oh, gosh, that would be great. Benny loves dogs.”

“Then I’ll bring ‘er round when we meet up.” He paused. “And, it’s still not quite fall yet, so how’d you feel about Ben bringing his swimming suit? Splashing around in the fountain? Kids do it all the time.”

“I bet he’d like that,” Peter said.

“Good deal, then!” Another pause. “Oh! Before I forget. Snacks. I know that Benny has a peanut allergy and is lactose intolerant, but Ollie is severely allergic to all nuts and has a horrible gluten sensitivity, so how about I stick with the dry snacks and you bring the juice boxes.”

“I can do that. You want me to bring something for you?”

“There’s food carts for the grownups.”

Peter let out a surprised laugh. “Sounds good then. So, Saturday? What time?”

“Does 10AM work for you? Ollie usually takes a nap after lunch.”

“Benny conks out the moment the sugar from the juice runs out.”

Harley chuckled. “Sounds about right. So, 10 o’clock?”

“10 o’clock.”

“See you then.”

With Mabel at the Compound for her weekend physicals, Ben was jittering as he walked, hand in Peter’s, to Washington Square, other hand gripping onto his shark swim trunks. Peter was just taking in the sights, enjoying the breeze, and listening in on the many conversations of bustling streets.

He swung Benny’s arm lightly, looking to him with a fond smile. “You excited, bud?”

He grinned toothily. “I’m  _ so  _ excited! You’re gonna love Ollie. He’s the coolest ever.”

“I bet I will,” he replied.

Benny then went onto a long-winded ramble about Ollie’s very strong opinions on fast food fries. 

As they entered the large park, Peter scanned the crowd, but froze as he caught eyes with a tall and dreamy blonde laughing on the other side of the fountain. He pushed his hair from his face, arms flexing in his tight tank top as he looked down.

“There he is! I see him! I see him!” Benny exclaimed, pulling Peter as hard as his frail little body could.

“Careful, bud.” He turned to the parkgoers they were bumping into. “Sorry. Sorry about this. Sorry.”

“Ollie!!!” 

A little boy with bright platinum blonde hair looked up, eyes wide, nearly tripping in his Crocs as he ran to embrace the running boy. “Benny!”

Peter jogged to the two, too scared to be too far from him. 

“You must be Peter.”

Peter looked up, and went rigid as his eyes met bright baby blues.  _ Oh no. _

“Nice to meet you in person.” He held out a hand to shake.

Peter grabbed it, very cautious not to squeeze too tight. “Pleasure’s mine.”

“May we please go into the fountain?” Benny asked.

Peter looked to Harley tentatively. He gave him an understanding smile, and urged him on with a nod. 

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Benny pumped his fist up in triumph and interlocked his fingers with Ollie’s and dragged him to the center of the fountain.

Peter, not breaking his intense stare on Benny, was startled as Harley placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“S’alright,” Peter replied.

“This is his first playdate, ain’t it?”

Peter nodded, a thick block in his throat. “Yeah.”

“It gets easier. First time Ollie went over to a friend’s, I spent the whole time with my eyes locked on the living room, constructing all these worst case scenarios. ‘What if he runs into the glass coffee table and shatters it?’ Or ‘what if he cracks his head open on the hardwood?’” He bobbed his head, sipping on his water bottle. “But you know your kid, and I can just tell by the way Ollie talks about him, he’s not dumb. And seeing him? I can see how careful he is. Look how slow he’s goin’ now that he’s in the water. He’s got his head on straight and knows right and wrong. He’s gonna be fine.”

Peter felt himself relax. “Thanks. That really helps.”

“It’s hard, lettin’ ‘em do their own thing, but they’re gonna fall sometimes, and you gotta let ‘em, or they’ll never learn how to get back up on their own.”

“You’re really good at this,” Peter said softly.

Harley went silent. “I… I’m tryin’ my best. We all are. We’re all tryin’ our best.”

“Is Ollie your only…”

“Yeah, he is. ‘Less you count Barbara. Say hi, honey.”

The shetland sheepdog barked happily. 

Peter, for the first time since he got there, tore his eyes away for a second, knowing that Harley was keeping close watch, and kneeled down to give the puppy love. “Well, hi there. Aren’t you the most gorgeous girl in the whole wide world?”

“Oh, don’t tell her that. Her ego is huge. It all goes to her head.”

Peter laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It’s just us. Ollie, me, and Barbara.”

“Yeah, same here.” He stood back up. “Single parenting is hard, no matter who you are, and I… you just have to work with what you’ve got. It was a hard adjustment, suddenly not having her around to… but they’re happy, or at least, I hope they are.”

“They?” Harley asked.

Peter silently cursed himself internally. “Benny’s got a sister.”

“Ollie hasn’t mentioned her,” Harley said.

“She’s homeschooled.”

“May I ask why?” Harley asked reluctantly.

“She’s got a medical condition. Makes it difficult for her to be around people. Just… we want to keep her safe while we’re still trying to figure out the extents.”

“I’m so sorry,” Harley said gently.

“She was born with it. It’s… it’s what killed her mother during childbirth. But it’s… it’s complicated, and not the easiest thing to explain, both literally and figuratively so…”

“No, of course. I won’t pry,” Harley reassured.

“Thank you.”

They both watched the boys stomp around in the fountain.

“Ollie’s not mine.”

Peter looked up. “What?”

“He’s my sister’s. Her and her wife… well she got artificially inseminated and had Ollie, but when he was two, her and her wife got in a car crash, and well… I was his godfather.”

Peter turned to face him, the blonde still staring at the fountain. “I’m sorry.”

“It was hard, taking him in, but… but I could never ask for anything else. He’s… he’s my world, and he’s always gonna be my world. He’s the light of my life, and he always reminds me that there’s good in this world, even if how we came together didn’t come from nothin’ good.”

“Kids have a way of showing you that.”

Harley nodded. “Yeah. They do.”

Benny slipped as he went under the fountain’s stream, which made Peter rush forward, but was stopped by Harley’s strong arm.

“Just wait.”

Without even an ounce of hesitance or pain, Benny got right back up, giggling and bright, grabbing Ollie’s hand and stomping around once again.

“See? He’s fine,” Harley said.

“Yeah. He is.”

Benny spun around in a couple circles before wobbling over and falling on his knees, another hearty giggle leaving his lips before getting up again.

Peter took a shaky breath. “He was a premie baby. Lots of complications. Hole in his heart, bad lungs, bad everything. We didn’t think he’d make it a few times. Most of the times really. And I just… I’m just so scared. I’m so scared that one day he’s gonna hurt, and he’s not gonna make it out of that one. When he was three, he went sledding with his sister and he shattered his collarbone, and it bursted some of his nerves and he lost feeling in his left arm. It hasn’t been the same since. And I… his bones. They’re brittle. Don’t know exactly why, but he gets it from me, I’m sure. When I was his age… God. I was a mess. And I could never wish that upon anyone, especially my… and I just want him to be healthy and happy. I want him to have a normal childhood without worrying about his lungs giving out or his bones snapping in half or, or…” He stopped. “Sorry. This is definitely not first playdate material.”

“You don’t have anyone to talk about this, do you?” 

“That obvious, huh?” Peter asked.

“Well, lucky for you, I’m new in town, and I could really use someone to show me around and warn me about any drug fronts disguised as cupcake shops.”

Peter snorted. “I can do that. I happen to have a vast knowledge on the topic.”

Harley raised an eyebrow. “Oh, do you?”

“Yes, in fact, I do.” He scrunched his nose as he thought. “Cupcake Central, Crimson Cupcakes, Showcased Sweets, and, well this isn’t a cupcake store nor a drug front, but Lolita’s Lovely Lollipops held a secret mob base.”

Harley stared at him, gobsmacked. “You’re joking, right?”

“Wish I was,” he replied with a shrug.

“So you’re a cop, then.”

“No, no. Just hear the local gossip,” Peter said dismissively.

“ _ That’s  _ the local gossip?” 

“You get used to it.”

“Don’t think I will,” Harley stated.

Ollie threw a handful of water at Ben, eyes luckily blocked by custom made prescription water goggles. He barked out a loud laugh and did the same to him.

“So, what  _ do  _ you do?” Harley asked.

“I’m the head chemist at Stark Industries.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Why? Do I not look the scientist type?”

“No, I… I’m a mechanical engineer at SI. Twenty seventh floor.”

“Twenty eighth!” Peter exclaimed.

“What a small world. I bet we’ve probably seen each other in passing and never noticed.”

“Oh, I’d notice you,” Peter blurted out, mouth snapping shut as his face burned red. “I mean… I…”

Harley just laughed, not quite catching what he meant. “You chemists are real stuck up, you know? You’ve got your chemicals and formulas but you don’t gotta do the heavy lifting. You ain’t builders.”

“Well, you mechanical engineers don’t have an appreciation for the intricacies of precision.”

“Oh, I don’t know precision? When you’re working with micro screws the size of a rice grain, and have to pound a hundred into a prototype before you can get a machine to do it for you, you tell me about precision.”

“Well you call me when you’re synthesizing a formula that requires that the measurements cannot be a quarter milliliter over the exact quantification or else you’ll cause a toxic explosion.”

“How about I call you this Monday for dinner?” 

Peter froze. “What?”

“We usually do a Labor Day cookout, and even though we don’t got a backyard anymore, we do got a George Foreman indoor grill, gluten free hotdog and hamburger buns, and a damn good potato salad recipe, and we’d love it if you and Benny could come. And… I don’t know much about your daughter, and if it ain’t safe for her to come over, I won’t pry, but… it’d be nice company.”

Peter pursed his lips. “I’ll think on it. Alright?”

“Think on that, and in the meantime, we can talk about how you, someone who looks to be not a day over thirty is the head chemist.”

“I’m actually forty-one,” Peter corrected.

“Shut up.”

“What?” Peter asked.

“You’re not forty-one,” Harley said in disbelief.

“I am!”

Harley gawked at him. “Well you… you look fantastic.”

“I’ve got a baby face. Always have,” Peter said.

Ollie and Benny headed over to them, laughing over something only the two understood.

Peter and Harley grabbed their towels, ready to cocoon them in the fabric.

“I didn’t get to say hi to Barbara!” Benny said loudly, rushing to the dog.

“Nu uh uh. Don’t get her wet. You gotta dry off first,” Peter said.

“Okay,” Benny pouted.

“You boys hungry? We’ve got chex mix, sandwiches, and juice boxes,” Harley said.

They cheered, bundled in their towels.

“Let’s go find a table,” Peter said, ushering them through the crowd.

As they settled on the picnic table, Harley setting down the lunch box and handing the boys their lunch, Peter sat next to him. 

“The food cart here is to die for. Great Indian food, but I gotta know now, can you handle flavor? Because I can surprise you and get you something delicious, get your order that you know you can handle, which is  _ boring _ , or even more boring, you’ve never had Indian food and I get you something safe and boring because you don’t like to try new things.”

Harley grinned. “How about that first option. Surprise me?”

“That is the right answer.” He got up but eyed Benny anxiously. “You okay watching the boys while I…”

“We’re gonna be fine,” Harley said.

“Okay.” Peter nodded to himself. “Okay.” He went around the table and pressed a kiss to Benny’s hair. “I’m gonna be right back, alright? Mr. Keener is gonna hang out until I come back.”

Benny, mouth full of chex mix, gave a thumbs up.

It was a grueling eight minutes as Peter waited in line. He hated being away from Ben, but even though he only just met him, he trusted Harley, at least enough for eight minutes. Maybe. Mostly. No, no, he did. Kind of. Sort of. Enough.

He returned with a mountain of food, mostly for himself since he hadn’t eaten his super-calorie bar that morning in the concentration of making it the perfect day for Benny.

“Daddy! You have to try this chex mix! It’s amazing!” Benny said.

“We havin’ a feast?” Harley teased.

“Didn’t grab breakfast this morning and I’ve got a fast metabolism.”

“I’m thinkin’ that’s an understatement,” Harley joked.

He slid the steamed lentil patties in sambar and chutney and salad to Harley. “This is for you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Daddy! Chex mix!” Benny repeated.

“Alright, munchkin. One second.” He laid out all of his plates and plopped into his seat. “Alright, gimme some.” Peter held out his hand.

“I only saved you one of each,” Benny said, pouring the pieces and crumbs into his hand.

“Well, thank you for saving me any,” Peter responded, popping the snack into his mouth. His eyes went wide. “Holy guacamole. This is delicious.” He turned to Harley. “Where did you get this?”

“Made it,” he stated. “Can’t find good gluten free chex mix that’s not filled with enough salt to turn a pond into an ocean, so I gotta make my own.”

“Well, it’s amazing. I’ll have to get the recipe from you.”

“Real simple. Takes less than half an hour. Great for making with your kids too.”

“Daddy loves to cook with us! We cook dinner together!” Benny said.

“So do me ‘n’ Uncle Harley!” Ollie said.

Benny cupped his hand over his mouth and whispered something to Ollie that made him let out a loud guffaw.

“What?” Peter asked curiously.

“Nothin’...” Benny said, pressing his lips together to hold back another laugh.

Harley leaned in to Peter’s ear, and said a low, rumble of a whisper, “Kids think it’s real funny to whisper. They usually aren’t scheming, but it’s funny to watch them get worked up when the grown ups do it to. Laugh like I said something really funny.”

Peter did laugh, making Benny and Ollie look at them with furrowed brows. 

“What’s so funny?” Benny questioned.

“Grown up stuff,” Harley said simply.

Peter snorted silently, smiling at Harley who gave him a knowing look.

Benny yawned. 

“You tired, bud?”

“Uh uh,” Benny said with a shake of the head of his head, his eyes drooping closed again with an even larger yawn.

“I think it’s time to head home soon,” Harley said.

“Nooooo!” The boys whined.

“You need to take a nap,” Harley said.

“You too, munchkin,” Peter said. “We can finish our lunch, but then we’re gonna go, alright? You want to have enough energy for board games tonight, don’t you?” 

Benny frowned, but nodded. “I do.”

“Daddy’s gonna eat his mountain of food, but he’ll take his time, okay?”

Benny grinned. “Okay.” He turned to Ollie and started talking a mile a minute again, though he was clearly tired.

Harley bumped his shoulder with Peter’s and gave him a smile and mouthed a ‘good job’ to him.

‘Teamwork,’ he mouthed back.

When Ben was laid down for his nap, Peter sat on the couch, staring at his phone.

Finally, he called May.

“Hey, honey. Everything alright?” she asked.

“I met a guy.”

There was a pause on the other side of the line. “That’s… good? Right?” 

“Oh! No! Not like that. I uh, Benny had a playdate with that boy from school.”

“Ollie Keener, right?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“So… did it not go well?”

Peter sighed. “No. Actually, it went great. Fantastic even. Ollie and Benny had a good time, and Ollie’s dad… he’s… he’s just… he’s great too. And he wants us to come over for Labor Day dinner. And by us, I mean Benny, me,  _ and  _ Mabel.”

“He knows about Mabel?” she questioned.

“I told him the cover story. Vague and non-specific. But I… she’s never… you know the only thing I want for her is a sense of normalcy, but I just…”

“You’re scared.”

“May, I’m terrified. What if… what if something happens and she outs her powers and he… I just… it’s too dangerous.”

“Peter,” she said firmly. “Mabel is five years old, and five year olds are so much smarter than you think, and your kids are even smarter. Mabel has been containing her powers for her whole life. She’s gone into the world, even just for a glimpse, and nothing has happened yet. So, give her the benefit of the doubt. Let her experience life like a normal kid, just for a day. Let yourself be a normal parent.”

“I don’t know how to be a normal parent,” Peter said meekly.

“None of us do, baby. But you gotta figure that out. You gotta let yourself make mistakes. You can’t protect them forever, and you’re gonna have to set them free sometimes. The best choice for them might not be your favorite choice to make, but it’s gonna make them so happy, and it’s gonna be so worth it in the end. Go to dinner. Have a good time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to chat, my Tumblr is [official-impravidus](https://official-impravidus.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

“Do you need help with your shoes?”

“Nope! I got it!”

“Mabel, your dress is tucked in your shorts.”

“Oops!”

“Here, let me…”

“I’ve got it, daddy.”

“You’ve got your inhaler?”

“It’s in my pocket!”

“Where’s my pink bow?”

“It’s on the sink.”

“Thank you!”

Peter ran through his list three more times in his mind, checking off what they had. “Okay. I think we’re ready.”

“Finally!” Benny groaned. 

Mabel exited the bathroom and did several over-exaggerated poses, showing off the pink clip in bow tucked neatly atop her tight bun. “How do I look?”

“Beautiful as always,” Peter said.

“Okay, you’ve got…”

“We’ve got everything, Dad! Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

He let out a breath. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The Keener’s apartment was a short walk from their penthouse, which Peter was thankful for, because the twins were bursting with energy and impatience.

“Okay, remember to be polite and use your manners, alright?” Peter said.

“We promise!” they said in unison.

With a quick nod, he knocked on the door.

To his surprise, Ollie answered, a yellow apron tied around his tiny torso. “Hey y’all! Uncle Harley’s in the kitchen whippin’ up supper.” He locked eyes with Mabel. “You must be Benny’s sister! I’m Ollie.” He held out a hand to shake.

Mabel looked at it warily, looking to her father with worry.

“Only if you’re comfortable,” he whispered.

She bit her lip nervously, but grabbed his hand with the gentlest squeeze she could muster.

“Come on in! I made some fresh squeezed lemonade!” Ollie said, grabbing Benny’s hand and pulling him into the apartment.

“Sounds delicious,” Peter replied looking around the apartment and taking in the sights.

“Hey there!” Harley called. “Just gettin’ the corn and hot dogs boilin’. Wasn’t sure how y’all liked your hamburgers cooked, so I wanted to wait ‘til you got here.”

“Thank you for all of this, Harley,” Peter said.

“We’re just startin’. There’s still lots in store.” He wiped his hands off on the dish towel, and caught sight of Mabel standing shyly behind Peter. “Well, hiya. I’m Ollie’s dad. And you must be Mabel?”

Peter, glad that he debriefed Harley on the basics, turned to Mabel and nudged her arm slightly. “Can you say hi to Mr. Keener?”

“Hi,” she said quietly.

“Do you wanna sit with us while we get dinner ready or do you want to go play with your brother and Ollie?” Peter asked.

“May I stay in here please?” she asked.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to," Peter said.

“I want to,” she said, climbing onto the stool at the island.

“Anything I can help with?” Peter asked. He set down the glass tupperware. “I brought vegan gluten free mac and cheese.”

“You could help me get started on the hamburgers. I got slider buns since I figured they wouldn’t have the stomachs for a full burger, Harley said.

“Smart,” Peter responded. “So uh, how does it work?”

He laughed. “Here. Lemme show you.” He flipped open the lid. “How do you like yours cooked?”

“Medium rare.”

“Alright. So you just put the patty in. I usually do it about this size for sliders. Bigger than the bun because it shrinks when you cook. Just slap on the meat, set the timer, and you’re set.”

“And how do you know how long?”

“I’ve got the cheatsheet in my recipe book.” He tapped the open page in his thick binder.

“Gotcha.”

Peter shuffled around the kitchen, going to wash his hands.

“So, Mabel. What do you like to do for fun?” Harley asked.

She took a quiet gulp and looked at her hands. “I like making stories.”

“Oooh. What kinds of stories?”

“All kinds of stories,” she said, her confidence growing. “Some are about princesses and some are about mermaids or fairies or, or, sometimes vampires. Some are about real people. Well, they’re not real people because I made them up but they’re just normal humans. And sometimes they’re not normal humans. They’re superhumans. But uh, not always.”

Harley just nodded encouragingly. “And what’s the story you’re working on now about?”

“Well, it’s about a magician who makes a deal with a witch to put on the best performance, but the witch tricks him and gives him the best performance but then he is forever in her debt, so then years later when he is having his firstborn child, she takes it and raises it as her own, but when the baby grows up as the witch’s apprentice he makes a deal with the old magician and finds out he finds out that the old magician is his dad and they rebel against the witch and then they use their real magic and magician magic to trick  _ her _ and then they live happily ever.”

“Wow,” Harley said, nearly speechless. “That  _ is  _ a story.”

“May I please have lemonade please?” Mabel asked.

“Of course,” Harley replied, grabbing a plastic cup and the tall pitcher. 

“Daddy says you build stuff. What do you build?” 

He chuckled. “Well, right now, I’m working on a special fridge that doesn’t stop being cold when the power goes out.”

“That happened to us once and we had to throw away a bunch of frozen meat because Daddy freezes meat to use it for later. Our popsicles were liquid, so we had to wait for them to get cold again because when liquids get cold they turn into solids.”

“They do,” Harley replied.

“Sometimes we take liquids like juice or lemonade and we put them into these plastic containers and they turn into popsicles.”

“We do that too. Ollie likes grape juice popsicles,” Harley said as he pulled the corn out of the boiling pot.

“Frozen food is really good. Sometimes when I get home from my physicals, I eat frozen corn because it cools me off.”

“Physicals?” Harley questioned.

Mabel’s eyes darted to Peter in panic.

“It’s to monitor her health and progress,” Peter said.

“Ah,” Harley responded, knowing not to push.

“May I go play with Benny and Ollie please?” Mabel asked.

“You can do whatever you’d like, sweetpea,” Peter said.

With a nod, she climbed down the stool, carefully grabbing her lemonade and headed to Ollie’s bedroom.

“She seems great,” Harley said.

“She’s shy at first, but when you get her talking, it’s hard to get her to stop. Benny and her are the same way. They get it from me.”

Harley laughed. “I don’t think you talk too much.”

“That’s because you haven’t gotten me on the topics that actually matter like the ranking of the  _ Star Wars  _ movies or my opinions on neapolitan ice cream.”

“Then maybe I’ll have to ask you sometime.”

Peter opened the grill. “These look good?”

“Perfect. You’re a natural.”

“Thanks for having us. It means the world the kids. And to me.”

“It ain’t nothin’. Y’all are becomin’ quick friends,” Harley said, putting the hot dogs in their buns and back into the bag.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked.

“This steams the hot dogs. Makes the perfect hot dog, like the kind ya get at baseball games,” he explained.

“Huh. Good to know.”

“Just another trick up my sleeve. Got a lot of tricks.” His face blanched. “Culinary tricks, I mean.”

“Right,” Peter replied, cheeks flushing. “So, uh, New York. What brings you to the big apple?”

“New beginnings,” Harley said. “I was working at SI Nashville, but transferred when… when I realized that Ollie and I needed to get out of Tennessee.”

“So you’ve been working at SI for a while then?”

Harley nodded. “Bit of a nepotism hire. Had some connections.”

“I get that. I’m the same. Sometimes it doesn’t feel quite fair to have gotten to where I am when I had the big boss’s endorsement, but… I’m grateful. Though, I’m sure I would’ve found my way without it.”

“Big boss? You know Pepper Potts?” 

Peter swallowed heavily. “In a way. I… uh, I used to intern for Tony Stark. Before he… well… yeah.”

Harley went silent. “Yeah. I get that.”

“You do?” Peter asked.

“He was an old childhood acquaintance. Owed me. Guess when he kicked the bucket he figured he’d cash that one in with a great spot at his company and a full eight years at MIT.”

Peter studied his face, and a light bulb blinked in the back of his mind. “You were at his funeral.”

Taken aback, he nodded. “Yeah. Pretty surprised I was invited considering he mostly kept in contact through gifts on holidays or donations to my school’s science programs.” 

“We talked. Briefly. I get it if you don’t remember, it was a pretty overwhelming time. Don’t think I was in the place to really hold a conversation, but we… I saw you. I was confused why there was another kid at his funeral. We didn’t talk about much. Mostly nothing. We didn’t even talk about him. We talked about… God, I think something about onion canons?”

“Potato gun,” Harley corrected. “I… God, I was obsessed with that thing. Had to start somewhere.”

“It was an impressive design,” Peter stated.

Harley waved his hand dismissively. “It was nothin’.”

“Talking to you helped. It made me feel less… I don’t know. Less like the random seventeen year old standing at the funeral of the man who saved the universe?”

“Tell me about it.”

Peter shook his head as he reminisced. “You know, it was weird seeing the Avengers back together, like the rogues hadn’t, you know, betrayed the world governments and tried to literally murder Mr. Stark. They were acting like they were buddy-buddy, but Happy told me that they weren’t even that close. The battle was what brought them back together, and even then, they weren’t on good terms, so…” Peter trailed off. “Sorry. Old grudges die hard.”

“You two must’ve been close,” Harley said, a hint of jealousy peaking through his curiosity.

“In a way. The internship brought us closer, but it… it was complicated. We only really had a year together, and even then, it didn’t feel like… I just… I don’t know.”

“He was a complicated man.”

“Yeah. He was.”

Peter pulled out another set of hamburgers. “Small world, huh?” 

“You can say.”

“I think I’m done,” Peter said, looking at his stack of hamburgers.

Harley examined his work. “Good deal. You hungry?” 

“Starved.”

“Kids!” Harley called. “Soups on!”

After a lovely supper at the Keeners complimented with a banana cream pie for dessert, their conversation still lingered on the forefront of Peter’s mind.

After getting the kids into bed and winding down with a glass of sparkling lemonade, he retired to the couch and sketched out new friction proof suit for Tommy since his speed was increasing exponentially the more he figured out his powers, and he was setting fire to his current suit.

He was about to phone Ned to discuss the internal tech for the suit when a familiar name popped up on his screen.

“This is Parker,” Peter greeted, as if he didn’t read the name ten times before answering. 

“Hey, Peter, it’s Harley.”

“Oh, hey Harley. What’s up? We didn’t forget something at yours, did we?” Peter asked, silently hoping that maybe he did just so he could see him again, but knowing that his meticulous checking insured that they didn’t.

“No, I just, I just wanted to say I had a great time tonight, and I’d love to do it again some time. Could barely get Ollie to bed from how excited he was.”

Peter nodded. “They’d really love that.” He paused, biting his lip. “Did Ollie mention Mabel at all? Did they get along?”

“Like a house fire,” Harley said. “He said that Mabel has the best stories and that she had the biggest ‘imagimation’ and that she was almost as cool as Benny.”

Peter sighed in relief. “That’s… that’s really great to hear. She’s never been able to make friends her age besides Benny, so I… well, Ollie is the first she’s really met.”

“Peter, I’m so sorry. I know I don’t know anythin’ about your situation, but that must be real hard.”

“It’s just how it had to be. All I… all I ever wanted was for her to have a normal childhood, but things don’t always work out the way you want them. But she… she loves the childhood she has. She loves her doctors and her teachers and her brother and now she’s got Ollie, and I… I just want her to be happy.”

“She seems happy. I mean, even at dinner, she was scarfing down food and laughing with us and the boys.”

“Right. I… right. Thanks.”

“I know you worry, and you’ll never stop worrying, but know that they’re doing good. They’re good kids and they’re happy and they may not have the most normal lives, but that’s their normal, and they’re content with that normal. They don’t need to have the cookie cutter life to be happy. They are.”

Peter smiled softly, eyes glistening with warm tears. “Thank you, Harley.”

“Well, anywho, I just wanted to see when works for you to get the kids together again.”

Peter got up and looked at his calendar. “Well, uh, Fridays and weekends work best for us.”

“How’s Saturday sound? Same time?”

“That sounds great. My place?”

“Works for me. See you then.”

As the kids giggled and chattered away in Mabel’s room that had been transformed into an enchanted forest, Harley and Peter danced around the kitchen preparing supper, quietly humming along to the  _ Mamma Mia  _ soundtrack.

“Can you mince the garlic?” Harley asked.

Peter hummed an affirmation, sliding past him to grab the cloves and knife.

“Do you have a spoon for the mashed potatoes?”

“Oh, sorry, we don’t use spoons in this household,” Peter quipped.

“Ha ha,” Harley replied monotonously. “Spoon? Preferably wooden?”

Peter pulled open the utensil drawer. “Knock yourself out.”

The two cooked in silence, the music playing softly, accompanying the clink and clatter of dishes.

“He broke into my garage.”

Peter looked up. “What?”

“Tony. Remember when everyone thought he was dead after his house was blown up?”

“Of course. How could anyone forget that?” 

Harley bobbed his head. “Well, I found out that he was alive when I found him nearly passed out in my garage, the Iron Man suit on my couch.”

“He does love a dramatic first impression,” Peter said, smiling nostalgically.

“How did you meet him?” Harley asked.

“I came home from school one day, Freshman year, just a normal Thursday, and Tony Stark was just sitting on my couch, eating my aunt’s latest attempts at a recipe. I think it was a walnut date loaf or something as equally appalling. He said he wanted to recruit me for an internship and then just a couple days later, I was flying to Germany for an internship retreat.”

“Must’ve been somethin’ real special for him to take an interest when you were so young.”

Peter nodded. “Had a skillset he was interested in.” His smile dissolved. “He, uh, we fell out of touch after the retreat and I went on doing my… what I was doing before. But then, I lost the internship after I went against his protocols.”

“Oh. I didn’t…”

“I got it back. The story doesn’t end there,” Peter said with a cheeky grin. “Proved myself, got it back with even newer perks. Actually got promoted. Worked in the labs with him personally. We spent a lot of time together. A sort of mentorship. It was… it was nice. It was steady.”

Peter turned to Harley. “But you’ve gotta tell me more about your story.”

Harley leaned in. “So, you know the Mandarin, right?”

The kids were enjoying a post dinner popsicle at the table, but Benny and Ollie were scrunching their faces in discomfort, arms contorted back to itch at their back.

“Hey, boys, what’s wrong?” Harley asked.

“Itchy,” Benny said, continuing to itch his back.

Harley looked to Peter, a shared panic growing. 

Peter rushed to Benny and pulled up his shirt, gasping as he saw the hives.

“Oh, God.” Peter ran to the kitchen, pulling boxes out of the trash. “The breadcrumbs are gluten free and nut free. They shouldn’t have caused this reaction.”

“There was nothing that we had that could’ve had nuts. It was just meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” Harley said, digging through his medicine bag for Benadryl.

“Mashed potatoes,” Peter said, realization growing. “I got a new brand of mashed potatoes on sale, but I didn’t think…” He scanned the ingredients. “Made on the same equipment.”

“Crap,” Harley muttered.

“My lips feel funny,” Ollie said.

Harley’s head snapped towards the boy whose lips had grown triple their usual size. “I’m sorry, bud, we’re gonna have to do your epi.”

“You too, Ben,” Peter said, rummaging through the cabinet for Benny’s.

“I hate the epi!” Benny whined, his words slurred as his lips puffed up.

“Sorry, sweetie, but we have to.” Peter dumped the medicine box out. “Fuck, where is the epi?”

Harley had already administered Ollie’s, and rushed to help Peter.

“Found it!” Peter exclaimed, running to Benny’s side who was coughing hard. “You just gotta stay still for me, okay? Can you do that?”

Benny nodded, tears forming in his eyes.

Peter shook as he waited for the epi-pen’s instructions, and breathed in relief as he finally pressed it to his thigh.

“We’ve gotta get to the hospital,” Harley said, trying to remain as calm as he could.

“C’mon, guys. We gotta go.”

Peter picked up Benny with one arm, letting the boy bury his face in the crook of his neck as he held hands with Mabel.

“I’ll drive,” Harley said.

“I can drive,” Peter stated.

“You’re in no state to drive, Peter,” Harley interjected.

Nodded wordlessly, he clipped the kids in the back of Harley’s pickup truck and climbed into the passenger’s side.

“The doctor said that each time they get a reaction, it’s worse than the time before.”

Peter nodded again, picking at his cuticles. 

“It never gets easier, though.” Harley placed his hand on Peter’s hand that rested on his thigh, rubbing his thumb over his trembling fingers.

Peter watched the boys in the rearview mirror. “You doin’ okay?” he asked.

They both gave weak smiles and thumbs up.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were quickly rushed to their own rooms, Harley and Peter getting separated to take care of their own kids.

It was a blur of questions and answers. Paperwork and discussion of insurance. Benny getting hooked up to machines and needing a second shot of epinephrine when another wave of reaction came.

But, Benny was oblivious to the gravity of the situation, and was enraptured by the infomercial channel that was showing a compilation of dirty tiles being power washed and Mabel was conked out under a chair, since she had the additional superpower of being able to sleep anywhere whenever she wanted. 

Peter felt a buzz in his pocket.

**Harley Keener: Hey. Benny doing alright?**

Peter smiled softly.

_ Peter Parker: Yeah, he is.  _

_ Peter Parker: I’m so sorry about all of this. I didn’t think to read the mashed potatoes. _

**Harley Keener: Yeah. Our doctors thought it was quite a doozy too.**

_ Peter Parker: Ollie alright? _

**Harley Keener: Needed another shot of epinephrine, but he should be doing alright.**

_ Peter Parker: So did Benny.  _

**Harley Keener: Guess we’re staying here tonight.**

**Harley Keener: I’m gonna grab myself a cup of Joe.**

**Harley Keener: Want me to grab you one?**

_ Peter Parker: Yes please. _

_ Peter Parker: Do you know which room we’re in? _

**Harley Keener: Yup. On my way.**

After a fast ten minutes, Harley knocked lightly on the door.

“Hey,” he said softly, careful not to wake Mabel.

“Hi,” Peter replied.

Harley handed him the cup. “Didn’t know how you took it, but you look like the lots of cream, lots of sugar, dash of caramel type.”

Peter’s eyes widened as he sipped it. “This is delicious.”

“Was a barista in college,” Harley said with a shrug. “Glad I could spice up a hospital coffee.”

“Quite the feat,” Peter said with a small smile.

“How ya holdin’ up?” Harley asked, voice low and filled with worry.

“Not great. It’s been a while since he’s gone into anaphylactic shock, so I just… wasn’t prepared.”

“You can never be prepared,” Harley said.

“You were! You had your medicine bag ready.”

“That’s because we came over. If we were back home, I’d probably be ripping the cabinets apart before remembering where I kept it.”

“Can’t believe I didn’t read the mashed potatoes,” Peter mumbled.

“I wouldn’t’ve read ‘em either. Stop beatin’ yourself up about it.”

“You wouldn’t have read the mashed potatoes because you’d probably make your own homemade mashed potatoes with locally grown potatoes and never be in this mess in the first place,” Peter corrected.

Harley snorted, covering his mouth to keep quiet as he snickered. “You give me too much credit.”

“You’re really good at this.”

“I wasn’t always. But, being thrown into parenthood the way that I was, I wanted to do everything as perfect as I could to make it up to my sister. I’m just makin’ this up as I go.” He nudged Peter in the shoulder. “We all are.” 

“When I was four, my parents died in a plane crash,” Peter blurted out. “And my aunt and uncle took me in. And I guess, growing up, I never realized how much they sacrificed to give me a good life, especially when they didn’t ask for me.” He bit his lip. “What I’m trying to say is, I really admire you. Because you remind me of my aunt and uncle. And I think that your care and kindness and selflessness is incredible, and I think you’re an amazing person for doing everything that you’ve done for Ollie.”

Harley ducked his head down, cheeks tinting pink. “Speaking of which, I should probably head back.” He leaned forward but decided to step back. “Enjoy your coffee.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mashed potatoes are based on a true story! It was a complete shock to all of the doctors at the hospital when we told them about it.
> 
> If you want to chat, my Tumblr is [official-impravidus](https://official-impravidus.tumblr.com/)


	4. Chapter 4

After the mashed potato fiasco, Peter was certain that Harley would take a step back, but he was pleasantly surprised when he asked if Benny was attending their classmate’s birthday party and if Peter was coming too.

When Peter asked Benny about the birthday party, he shrugged and said he figured that it wasn’t a good idea.

“Why not?” Peter asked.

“It’s laser tag, and I can’t run for long times,” Benny said with another shrug.

“Well, I’m sure there will be other things to do other than the laser tag. Did you ask?” 

Benny paused. “I didn’t think I could.”

“It could be fun!” Peter urged. “And Ollie is going.”

Benny perked up at hearing his name. “He is?”

“He is. And I bet there are other kids who can’t do the laser tag that will play with you. And if not, I’m gonna be there, and so is Mr. Keener, so we can all hang out together and eat snacks.”

Benny’s eyebrows furrowed as his lips fell into a lopsided frown. “Hm.”

“What’cha thinkin’ about?” 

“It could be fun?” Benny asked.

“It could be really fun,” Peter replied.

Benny gave one firm nod. “Then I’ll go.”

Peter was so very grateful for his sound dampeners, because he couldn’t imagine how the parents in the room were not getting ice pick, throbbing headaches from the hoard of screeching children running around.

Benny stuck shyly to Peter’s leg, holding his hand tight, eyes scanning the room for Ollie. When he locked eyes with the boy, his smile grew wide, and he ran over to him, tackling him in a hug.

“Harley,” Peter greeted.

“Peter,” he responded, watching the boys with a fond glint in his eyes.

“What’d you get Darcy?” Peter asked.

“Giant bubble set. You?”

“Mermaid hair glitter gel.”

“That’s gonna be a mess,” Harley stated.

“Yeah, but Mabel loves that stuff and I figured it’s a universal thing.”

Harley snorted. “I mean, shit, I’d love some mermaid hair glitter gel. Spice up my look.”

Peter laughed. 

“You want a drink? They’ve got hard lemonade.” Harley held up his can.

“I’ll just stick to water,” Peter replied. “Not much of a drinker.”

Harley nodded, storing that information in the back of his mind. “I’m glad you could make it. Ollie was worried he wouldn’t know anyone.”

“Aren’t they in the same class?” Peter asked.

“He is, but he doesn’t really know anybody well. A lot of them went to preschool together, so he’s still gettin’ to know everyone.”

“Ah.” Peter sipped at his water. “I think Ollie is helping Benny warm up to his peers. I mean, he wouldn’t have even considered coming to something like this last year.”

“He’s findin’ himself. Sometimes it takes a little time and a little push.”

“Well, I’m glad he’s got Ollie.”

Harley smiled. “And I’m glad he’s got Benny.”

“He doing okay after…?”

“He’s fine. Don’t worry about it," Harley reassured.

“Can’t help worryin’ about it. I really am…”

“And stop apologizin’. I dont’ want to hear one more sorry out of that pretty little mouth, alright?”

Peter’s cheeks warmed. “F-fine. I just…”

“Worry. I know. Only know you a coupla weeks, and I can tell you’re the biggest worrywart on this side of the Atlantic.”

Peter lightly punched his arm, shaking his head. “I’m not.”

Harley went rigid, his drink spilling from his trembling hands. 

Peter, only noticing the liquid splashing on Harley’s shirt, assumed that he had hit too hard. “Shit, sorry.”

“I need some air,” Harley stated blankly, throwing his drink in the trash as he pushed past the crowd of parents and out of the building.

“Harley…” Peter started, but he was already gone. Before he could follow, he felt a tug on his sweater. 

“Daddy?”

Peter looked down, forcing a warm smile. “Hey, bud. What’s up?”

“Everyone is gonna go laser tag, and Ollie is gonna go in, so I’m gonna hang out with you.”

Peter patted his hair gently. “Of course.”

“Oh, are you staying back?” A dark haired woman that Peter recognized from orientation interjected. “Eurydice is staying back too, and I’m sure she’d love some company.”

Benny looked to Peter with wide, unsure eyes. 

“Do you wanna go hang out with Eurydice?”

Benny bit his lip. “What are we gonna do?”

“We were gonna set up board games at the snack table.”

Benny looked up. “Board games?”

“He loves board games,” Peter added.

“Well, we’ve got Trouble, Candy Land, Connect 4, and there’s also a pack of Uno cards.”

“That sounds fun,” Peter urged.

After a long pause of hesitation, Benny let go of Peter’s hand. “That sounds fun.”

“Follow me,” she said, leading him to the table.

“Would you mind if I stepped out for a moment?” Peter asked.

“You go right ahead. It’s gonna get pretty rowdy wrangling all the kids together,” she said.

“Thank you,” Peter said before cautiously heading out of the building, squinting at the bright sun as he exited.

He scanned the street, sighing in relief as he caught sight of Harley leaning on a divider, head down.

“Hey,” he said softly, as careful as he could be.

Harley didn’t respond.

“I’m sorry. I don’t… I didn’t mean to upset you. I won’t… I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were alright.”

“Fine,” he croaked, voice rough and raw.

“Ollie is heading into laser tag right now. Just thought you should know.”

“Thanks,” he replied curtly.

“Well, I… I’ll just… leave you to it. I… I’m sorry. And I know you keep telling me to stop saying that, but I really mean it. I never meant to…”

“I know you didn’t. It’s not… it’s not your fault. It’s never your fault. I… I didn’t mean to…”

“Hey. It’s alright. Whatever it is, it’s not my place to push. I just wanted you to know that I’m here if you need me, and I’ll also give you space if that’s what you need.”

“Thanks.” He gulped. “You can, uh, stay.”

“Do you want me to?” Peter asked.

“Yeah. I would.”

“Okay. Then I’ll stay.”

Peter stood next to him, leaning against the divider, taking in his surroundings instead of looking at Harley.

Harley took a shaky breath, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. “We should probably head back in.”

“You sure?”

“Want to be there when Ollie gets back,” Harley stated simply.

“There’s board games and cold leftover pizza, if you’d like.”

Harley nodded weakly. “I’d like that.” 

When his eyes met Peter’s, he could see that they were puffy and red, but he made no comment. Instead, he took his chilled water bottle, and handed it to Harley.

“Pour some on your finger and dab it under. It constricts the blood vessels. Takes down the swelling.”

Harley grabbed the water bottled and nodded. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Running his thumb under his eyes, he sniveled again. “I…”

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” Peter studied Harley’s face, trying to determine what he needed. 

“We should head in.”

“Are you…”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

The two walked in silence, and when they entered the room, Harley’s demeanor completely flipped. His eyes brightened, his shoulders relaxing, and a casual and cool smile. “Talia! So great to see you again. How’s Eloise?”

She grinned. “Oh, she’s doing great. She’s got a shift at the hospital, so she couldn’t make it.”

“Make sure to tell her I say hi. Oh! And thank you for that ceviche recipe. It was a hit at our house. We couldn’t use the shrimp because of Ollie’s shellfish allergy, so we used tilapia.”

“Oh! Was it good?” she asked.

“To die for. I really recommend it,” Harley said.

“We’ll have to try it!”

“Harley!” A dad greeted. “We missed you guys at the last soccer scrimmage.”

“Yeah, soccer wasn’t for Ollie. He got too upset when his friends on the other team weren’t passing him the ball.”

The dad laughed. “Guess it’s not for everybody. It’s a shame. He’s got some fancy footwork. Would’ve been a great asset to the team.”

Harley laughed politely. “He’s thinking of doing tap. He saw  _ Singin’ in the Rain  _ and has gotten an obsession with it.”

“I’m sure he’ll be great!” He replied. “Help yourself to the leftovers. The kids are gonna have cake when they come back.”

“Sounds great. Thanks, Tim. Great seeing you,” Harley responded.

Peter watched with furrowed brow, completely baffled by the sight.

When Harley met his gaze, his facade faltered, but returned when another Mom approached him with a plate of pepperoni pizza and Doritos.

Peter went over to the snack table where Benny and Eurydice were playing an intense match of Trouble.

“Hey, bud. How’s it going?”

“I’m winning!” he exclaimed proudly.

“Not for long,” Eurydice said, traveling across the board and sending Benny’s piece back.

“Argh!” Benny grunted. 

“Now we have the same amount of guys out,” she said.

“Yuri is really good at Trouble. This version has more rules than ours,” Benny told Peter.

“Maybe we should get this one to spice up family board game night,” Peter suggested.

“That’d be awesome!” Benny said.

“Well, you two have fun.” Peter ruffled Benny’s hair.

Benny hummed an affirmation as he stuck his tongue out while he concentrated on his next move.

Peter was drawn to the group of parents drinking and joking, Harley’s animated voice filling the crowd of laughter as he shared a story about Ollie and his first encounter with vanilla extract. 

“And I was so distracted that I hadn’t noticed him grabbing at the bottle, and I know it smells delicious, but boy was he in for a horrible surprise when he drank it straight. Let’s just say, he never tried to drink it ever again.”

The parents all laughed again, engrossed in Harley’s ease and charisma. However, all Peter could focus on was the cracks in his act. Because that is what it was. And act. It had to be, considering the state he was in just minutes before. 

How long had he been acting with Peter? Was it always an act?

Peter didn’t feel justified enough to feel a sense of betrayal. He barely knew Harley, and seeing him like that made him realize even further how little he knew about him.

But, he also realized that there was a reason he felt so cheated. Because he really liked Harley. He trusted him more than he had trusted someone outside of his superhero life in a long time. He made him feel normal. He made him feel like just a guy, a dad, a normal civilian who is making normal, civilian friends. It was a normality that he hadn’t had in a long time with the kids that he had. And Harley made them feel normal. He made them all feel like they were no different than anyone else, and that’s what made  _ him _ so different.

He was real. He was the realest part of Peter’s life. But now? Now he didn’t know if anything was real.

Harley met Peter’s stare again, and excused himself from his adoring crowd.

“Hey,” he said nervously.

“Hey,” Peter replied, staring at his bottled water, trying not to squeeze it too tight.

“We should talk,” Harley said. “Not… not here. But, we should.”

“We don’t have to if you…”

“We should,” Harley said. “Ollie’s gonna need a major nap after this, and he can’t have the birthday cake, so we were gonna leave early.” He licked his lips nervously. “I’ll call you. Alright?”

Peter nodded. “Alright.”

The sound of hyper, over-excited children built as the gaggle of kids approached.

Ollie came barreling over, jumping into Harley’s arms. “I had so much fun!”

“That’s great!” Harley gripped onto Ollie, firm and tight, burying his face in his hair. “So glad that you’re happy.”

“I’m so happy!” Ollie said.

“Well, say bye to your friends. We have to head home and have ice cream sundaes.”

Ollie’s face dropped, but brightened at the promise of ice cream. He ran away, going to give the birthday girl a hug, and wave goodbye to his friends.

Benny waddled over to Peter, tugging at his shirt. “Ollie is leaving.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, he is.”

“I wanna go now.”

Peter chuckled softly. “Alright. Did you say bye to Darcy and say thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Madden?”

Benny paused. “I will now.”

“You go do that.”

When the two arrived home, Mabel was settled at the kitchen counter, coloring while May was reading a book on the couch.

“Hey, May,” Peter greeted, kissing her on the cheek.

“Hey, sweetie. How was the party?”

“It was great!” Benny answered. “They had smiley face french fries and super crunchy pretzels and I played board games with this girl named Yuri from my class and I got to spend almost the whole day with Ollie except when he went to do laser tag and I played board games with Yuri.”

May chuckled. “Sounds like an eventful day.”

“I’m sleepy,” Benny stated.

“How about you go change into something more comfy, and you can take a nap?” Peter suggested.

“Okay!” And with that, he disappeared into his room.

“How was your day with Mimi?” Peter asked Mabel.

“We made cookies!” Mabel said, not looking up from her coloring book.

“Oooh, what kind?” Peter asked.

“Ginger snaps,” she replied. “Mimi let me put ice cream in between them like an ice cream sandwich.”

“Sounds yummy. I’ll have to have one.” He sat next to May on the couch. “Thanks again for watching her.”

“What are Mimis for?” May said with a smile. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than being with my favorite granddaughter.”

“I really appreciate it,” Peter said.

“I know you do.” She pulled him in so his head rested on her chest as she carded her fingers through his hair. “How are you doing?”

“That obvious, huh?” Peter asked, twisting his body to cuddle into her warmth more comfortably.

“I know you. I can tell when something’s on your mind.” She stopped. “The world’s not ending again, right?”

He let out a short chortle. “Nope. World’s not ending. But, I feel like mine is.”

“Oh no. Boy troubles?”

“How’d you know?” Peter asked, voice leaning towards a whine.

“Because you’ve been seeing that guy and every time you talk about him you light up like Happy’s ridiculously over-decorated Christmas trees.”

“I think he’s not the guy I thought he was,” Peter said.

“Why do you think that?”

“I… I think I saw a piece of the real him today. A realer, rawer version. And the charming, smooth guy I thought he was is just an act,” Peter said.

“Well, they could both be him. There’s more than one side to a person. You of all people would know that.”

Peter blew out a puff of air. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

“Then, you should know that sometimes the line between the person you choose to show to someone and the person you show to others is a thin line that bleeds both ways.”

Peter sighed. “Why do you always have to be right?”

“I’m always right.”

“Yeah, you are.”

She pulled him away, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Peter said.

“I should head home. Happy and I want to try out that new Indian place that opened where Donavici’s closed.”

“Have a good time.”

She smiled. “We will.” She kissed his forehead. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Daddy? Are you gonna tuck me in?” Benny called from his room.

“I’ll be right there!” Peter replied. “Mabel, do you want to take a nap too? You feeling sleepy?”

Mabel pursed her lips. “I could use a nap.” She climbed down from her stool and headed to the bedroom, still in her fruit pajamas.

She climbed into her bed, death-gripping her stuffed squid. 

By the time Peter got to the end of  _ A Bad Case of the Stripes, _ Benny and Mabel were out cold. He closed the door silently, and tiptoed to his room.

As if he knew, his phone rang, a familiar face popping up on his screen.

“Hey,” he said softly, not wanting to wake the kids.

“Hey,” Harley replied, voice a similar cadence. “Sorry it took so long for me to get back I… Ollie doesn’t go down easy. I have to lay with him the whole time he falls asleep.”

“It’s alright. I just got them down now. Perfect timing.”

“Great. That’s… great.”

There was a long pregnant silence. 

“So I—”

“I—”

“No you—”

“You first—”

“Sorry, I—”

“No really you—”

Harley let out a laugh, though slightly tense from his worry. “I’m sorry about today. That was… unprofessional and definitely not something I wanted to do at noon, only one drink in.”

Peter frowned. “You don’t have to joke about it and act like everything is fine.”

There was a long pause.

“I’m not the best with physical contact. Especially when I don’t initiate it. And I… you should know that. With Ollie, it’s fine. But I… sometimes I… it just….”

“It’s overwhelming and you associate it to things that you aren’t in a place to share. I get it. You don’t have to explain it to me.”

“You… get it?” Harley asked.

“Maybe not get it fully, but I understand enough. It’s also not my place to push, so I’ll take what you said, take it as a warning and a what not to do, and I won’t do it again. Simple as that.”

“I… thank you. Really. Thank you. I don’t… you’re a really great guy, Peter. And I really appreciate that. What you’re doing. What you’ve been doing for me a-and for Ollie.”

“Well, I’m glad you like me because you’re stuck with me indefinitely, considering how much Benny loves you guys.” He smiled softly. “And I like you guys too. So it’ll take a lot more than this to get rid of me.”

“Thank you, Peter. I…” He stopped. “I’ve gotta do some cleaning, so I’d better get that done while he’s sleeping. But it’s… it’s nice to…” He stopped again. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you soon. I’m sure the kids will want to get together again.”

“This Saturday sound good?”

“Same time?”

“Yup.” He shook his head. “We’re getting predictable, Keener.”

“Predictability can be good,” Harley said.

Peter nodded. “Yeah. It can.”

“Have a good one, Peter.”

“You too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to chat, my Tumblr is [official-impravidus](https://official-impravidus.tumblr.com/)


	5. Chapter 5

After a monotonous week of sampling, splicing, and alpha testing, Peter was impatiently waiting for Saturday to roll around.

The two had decided to take the boys to an outdoor concert playing at Bryant Park featuring local cover bands with music that wouldn’t be too overwhelming for the kids. There was a big space for them to dance and play and do whatever else their big brains would come up with. It was safe and easy.

Peter was bobbing his head to the infectious bass of a pop song he didn’t know as he sipped at his overpriced agave lemonade while Harley swayed, sipping at his meager plastic cup of beer.

“How do you know all the parents?” Peter blurted out, breaking the silence.

“What?” Harley asked, caught off guard.

“It’s just… at the birthday party last week, you knew everyone. And Benny has been with those kids for years and I… I go to the events and stuff, but you’ve only been here a couple months and it’s like you know everyone.”

“I get involved. A lot. I think it’s an overcompensation thing. I try to make sure everyone likes me so that they like Ollie. But then my amiability and kindness gets me pulled into all these social things and then I end up talking to them more and invited to even more social things and I just fall into this hole of getting closer to these parents when their kids aren’t even interested in being Ollie’s friend.”

“That sucks.”

Harley barked out a startled laugh. “Yeah. Kinda does.”

“Were you like that at Ollie’s old school?” Peter asked.

Harley’s smile faded. “Uh, no. We mostly kept to ourselves. Didn’t have many friends outside of…” He trailed off. “I didn’t really have many friends.”

“Well, you’ve at least got one,” Peter said, about to nudge him with his shoulder, but holding himself back. Peter’s gaze went back to the kids, jamming to the music. “Ollie’s gonna start tap dance?”

Harley snorted. “Who knows how long that’s gonna last. He goes through phases where he’s just obsessed with something and then all of a sudden he drops it for something else.”

“Dance is good. Teaches discipline or something.”

“Ha. Yeah. I’m sure. It’s also gonna drive our neighbors crazy.”

“I’m sure,” Peter said, sipping again.

“Daddy! Come dance with us!” Mabel called.

Peter began to shake his head, but Harley tugged at his arm. “C’mon. Can’t let the kids down, can we?” He downed the rest of his beer and tossed his cup at the trash can, missing at first and having to go and pick it up, throwing it a second time and barely making it in.

Ollie was headbanging to the song, thrashing and jumping and going crazy. Benny was twisting his hips, mostly dancing with his arms to not tire himself out. Mabel ran to Peter, pulling him with her with her (very firm and strong) grasp, beginning to do the routine they had made together.

“C’mon, Daddy! You know how it goes!” she said.

Face flushing in embarrassment, he joined in, very aware of the stares he was getting as he performed.

Harley whooped, wolf-whistling at Peter, the brunette man glaring at him for the action.

However, the two froze, a pinprick twinge in the back of their necks rising. They both locked eyes, then parted as they scanned the park for the danger.

The sky darkened above them.

“Shit,” Peter hissed. “Everyone! Run! Get to shelter! Get out of here!” He screamed.

The crowds, growing with panic and hysteria, fled out of the open park, screaming nonsense as they fell apart.

Peter crouched down to Mabel. “You and Ben go stay with Mr. Keener. Distract him. Make sure he doesn’t know where I went.”

She nodded.

“I love you,” he said, kissing her on the forehead, before running into the crowd, disappearing into the mass of people, breaking into a small abandoned food truck, engaging his suit and sending a distress signal to the rest of the team.

As he exited, he assessed the danger. The ship, which that’s what it had to be, it had to be a ship, because there was nothing that daunting and ginormous and looming hovering over New York that couldn’t be an alien ship.

Oh, and also, there were the aliens beaming down from it too. 

“Great. Of course,” Peter muttered. He turned on his comms. “Could really use some backup here!”

“On our way. ETA three minutes,” Cassie said.

“Make it faster!” Peter yelled, blindly fighting off twelve angry aliens.

“Teddy. You’re the extraterrestrial expert. Who are these guys?” Peter asked, webbing down three more aliens.

“Twatanbous. Highly intelligent primitive species from Minayo. Known to be aggressive and heavily focused on conquering with violence. Best game plan is to show our dominance and send them back where they came from,” Teddy replied.

“Highly intelligent and primitive. Sounds pretty redundant, huh?” Tommy asked.

“It’ll make more sense when you see them in person,” Teddy said.

“Which better be really soon because I repeat,  _ I need immediate backup _ !” Peter exclaimed.

“Gotcha, boss,” Billy said, appearing behind Peter, taking the aliens from behind him.

“Whatever you do, do  _ not  _ kill any of them. It will only pose us as a threat and provoke them. Detain them, deter them, but do  _ not  _ kill,” Teddy instructed.

“Could’ve told me that before I packed all of my lethal arrows,” Kate grumbled.

“Kate, there are tranq tips in the bottom of your quiver. They’re twistable and detachable,” Peter said.

“Thanks, boss,” she called. “Might take me a bit to join in. Don’t wait up.”

“We won’t!” Teddy called. “Patriot! Stature! Punch some guys out. I’ll conjure up something to hold them back, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold them down.”

“Copy,” Cassie replied.

A mile away, huddled in a crowded coffee shop, Harley held Ollie tight, who shook like a leaf in his arms. Benny and Mabel, however, were unsettlingly calm, despite their father disappearing and the clear panic in all the adults around them.

They whispered to each other, Benny’s whispers almost inaudible, while Mabel mouthed her words, moving and twisting her fingers in what Harley could only assume to be sign language.

But they didn’t seem concerned or worried or scared. They were just… calm.

Harley had called Peter seventeen times, and yes, seventeen was a little excessive, but also, it seemed justified considering the situation.

Though he was mostly distracted as he settled Ollie, his mind was wandering and spiraling. The hopeful side of him said that Peter got caught up in the crowd and took shelter in another building. The less hopeful side of him was going through the list of ways Peter was hurt or dead. It was mostly the latter.

Harley’s eyes were glued to the television in the corner of the coffee shop playing live feed from the big fight. Spider-Man and his team were taking care of the aliens, which, God, he knew this was well past the thirtieth alien attack on Earth, but it never got easier to stomach.

“The Avengers seem to be communicating with the invaders and appear to be calling a truce,” the reporter said. “Spider-Man is dissolving his webs, and the aliens seem to be returning to their ship. This just in, the aliens in New York have left, and are departing back to their planet.”

The coffee shop all let out the breaths that they were holding.

“Wait. What’s this? There is one rogue scragler! They are attacking Spider-Man from behind. But Spider-Man isn’t fighting back! The other aliens now seem to be aggravated, not at the Avengers but of the traitor.”

The reporter continued to commentate, but that wasn’t what Harley was focused on. Benny and Mabel who had been at ease since they got there were breathing heavily, eyes glued to the screen.

“Hey, guys. It’s okay.”

“Dad,” Mabel choked out.

Benny shook her arm, giving her a pointed look.

“Dad!” she repeated, louder.

“Did you see your dad? Is he… crap, is he still out there?”

“No!” Benny interjected before Mabel could respond. “Where is… where is our dad?”

Harley’s face fell, though a rush of relief coursed over him. “I don’t know, but we’re gonna find him. Alright?”

Mabel still stared at the television, the aliens now evacuated, the park bloodied from the fight, and Spider-Man lying limp on the ground, shakily pushing himself up and standing with the help of Hulkling and Wiccan.

“He’s okay,” Benny whispered to Mabel.

“Yeah. I’m sure he’s worried out of his mind lookin’ for you two when we can leave,” Harley said. His phone buzzed, Peter’s name showing up. “See! He’s calling right now.”

“Harley,” Peter croaked out, though he tried to sound in perfect health.

“Where are you?” Harley asked.

“I… I got caught up in the pandemonium and got a little injured. I have some friends that live around here, so I went to their’s, but I’ve already called the kid’s grandmother, so she’s gonna come pick them up.”

“You can’t?” Harley asked, brows furrowed in concern.

“They’ll understand. I’ll be fine, but I just need to recuperate for a couple hours. I promise, I’m fine. Just a little bit of a scrape. Needed some antibiotic wipes and all that jazz.”

“Will you… are you…”

“I. Am. Fine. I’ll give you May’s number and you can let her know where you guys are. Thank you so much, Harley. I’m sorry to put you on impromptu babysitting duty.”

“No, no. That… it was no trouble,” Harley reassured, eyes on Benny and Mabel who continued their secret language.

“Thanks again. I’ll call you when I can. I…” He paused. “Thanks.”

“Mimi is coming?” Mabel asked.

“Uh, yeah, she is,” Harley said, taken aback. “So you guys are gonna stick with me while we wait. Do you want something to eat?”

“No thank you,” they said in unison.

In a quick ten minutes, the kid’s “Mimi” arrived, the two looking very relieved to see her.

“Hi,” she greeted, putting out her hand for Harley to shake. “May Parker. So nice to meet you.”

“You must be Peter’s aunt,” Harley said.

Surprised, she nodded. “That’s me.”

“Is Peter…”

“He’s fine. He’s tougher than he looks. Just gravitates towards danger,” she said. “Thank you for watching the kids. They feel very safe with you.” She leaned in. “That’s a very good thing, and that means a lot to them, and me, and especially Peter. Remember that.” She turned around, squatting to get to the kid’s level. “Let’s head home, okay?” She faced Mabel. “You need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” she mumbled.

“You need to eat,” May repeated. “You know what happens when you don’t eat.”

Harley felt unsettled by the implications of the statement, not sure what she meant by it.

“I know,” Mabel responded. “But I’m not hungry.”

“I just don’t want you getting sick again. You know your tummy needs more food than Benny’s. It wasn’t fun getting sick like that,” she said gently, dissipating Harley’s worry. 

_ Her medical condition, _ Harley reasoned, relieved.

“Okay. Fine,” Mabel replied, disgruntled.

“You two rest. It’s been an eventful day,” May said to Harley.

“You as well. And could you tell Peter that I…” He stopped. “Just tell him to call me when he can.”

“Will do.” She grabbed the kid’s hands. “Let’s go.”

Harley was scrolling through his emails in bed when he finally got a call from Peter. Though he would admit it, he did drop everything he was doing and yip like a hyperactive teenage girl getting a call from her crush, despite the gravity of the situation.

“Before you ask, I’m fine. I’m totally fine. Literally, nothing is wrong, I didn’t even need stitches kind of fine,” Peter started.

“Well, now I’m worried, because I didn’t even consider the fact that you needed stitches.”

“Then that just means there’s extra nothing to worry about. Because I didn’t,” Peter said lightly.

“Peter. What happened?” Harley asked.

“Cutting right to the point. Alright. I... was distracted. And got in a bit of a tizzy with a hysteric parkgoer. But all is well! I am fine!”

“Did you get hurt?” Harley asked.

“Already healing. Nothing that won’t be gone by Monday.”

“Are you…”

“I’m sure. Just need to stick to my bed for a day. Drink lots of fluids. Eat lots of proteins. The whole shabang.”

“Well, you sound great. I mean.. you don’t sound…”

“I’m not on the edge of croaking. I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about me,” Peter said.

“You know I won’t.”

Peter smirked playfully. “Aw, Keener, do you  _ care  _ about me?”

“Hard not to,” Harley replied.

Peter’s smirk faded, a fond smile replacing it. “Ollie doing alright?”

“As alright as he can be. This is his first firsthand experience with an alien attack.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, the last ones haven’t been around Tennessee, huh?”

“I didn’t exactly let him watch the news when they were going down either,” Harley said.

“He must be overwhelmed,” Peter said.

“Definitely more than yours.” There was a pause. “They were really calm. Like, really really calm. Is it… is that a New York thing or a Parker thing?”

“A little bit of both,” Peter replied. 

“Not sure I can ever get used to all of this.”

“The aliens or me and my kids?” Peter teased.

“A little bit of both,” Harley parrotted. 

“It doesn’t get easier. But it gets… normaler. If that makes sense. There’s a bit of a desensitization to it all. It gets less crazy every time it happens. And in New York, there just happens to be an influx of crazy.”

“Definitely a different kind of crazy than I’m used to,” Harley stated.

“Well, I’m here to guide you through the crazy if you want me to.”

“I would.”

Peter gulped. “I… I’ll let you get back to your evening. It’s late, and I should probably get back to my resting.”

“Right. I… you have a good night now, ya hear?”

“I will. You too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I name the aliens and alien planet after my choir assessment pieces? Perhaps.
> 
> If you want to chat, my Tumblr is [official-impravidus](https://official-impravidus.tumblr.com/)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of domestic abuse and age gaps

They fell into a routine. It was simple and it was reliable and it was something that they looked forward to every week.

Saturdays became the days that the kids got together, and in between then, they shared their texts, giggling like teens as they shared funny videos that caught their eye or recipes they tried or just the general silly update from the kids. And, if they were just as excited to see each other as the kids were, then they didn’t address it.

Some days they baked and cooked together, sharing family recipes and bonding over similar kitchen etiquette. They taught new skills, got their hands dirty, and danced around to great music, ending the day with a delicious meal.

Some days they went to parks or movies or museums. Some days they stayed in and played board games or that dance game that Mabel and Ollie were obsessed with that Benny would play from the couch and always end up winning or they would just play make believe while Harley and Peter chatted and joked over drinks.

Harley was safe. He was comfort. He was dependable and definite, and Peter was addicted to the mundane, domesticity of his friendship and companionship.

Peter cherished their Saturday afternoons. For just a moment, he wasn’t Peter Parker, head of Chemical Engineering, award winning biomedical and chemical scientist. He wasn’t Spider-Man, head of the Avengers, successor to Iron Man. He was Peter Parker, dad, bread baker, and Trouble champion. He was just a guy, laughing about the time in grad school when he accidentally pulled an Elle Woods and attended a “dress up” event in a (homemade, perfectly accurate) Han Solo costume, and was horribly surprised by the room of his peers in suits and dresses while drinking respectable glasses of good wine.

September rolled to October, the days getting chillier, but his heart growing warmer. The two were closer than ever before, and finding their way to become even closer.

“Knock knock.”

Harley looked up from his prototype that he was nose deep in hyperfocused concentration, eyes widening as he caught sight of who was at the door. 

“Thought you could use some fresh air and damn good lemongrass beef wraps, so I thought I’d take you out to lunch," Peter said, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Harley blinked slowly before processing his words. “You want to take me out to lunch.”

“Sure! I mean, we don’t get much time together unless the kids get together, so I figured some one on one grown up time would be good for us. Plus, _someone_ needs to celebrate you and your uber successful scientific article publishing.”

Harley laughed. "I wouldn't say uber successful."

"I can see it now! Harley Keener is gonna be the new biggest name in mechanical engineering."

"Yeah yeah." He smiled, shimmying off his dirty, greasy hoodie, revealing a loose Spider-Man shirt.

“You a fan?” Peter teased.

“He has comfortable merch!” Harley said, slightly embarrassed.

“Ah. I see,” Peter said, amused.

“You know. Maybe I won’t go to lunch with you. You’re mean.”

Peter pouted. “Aw, c’mon. Pwease?”

“I see Benny learned from the best. That kid knows how to coerce an extra cookie like it’s his job.”

“Doesn’t work on me anymore,” Peter said. “Well. Not always.”

Harley laughed. “Let me clean up and we can head out.”

“So, there we were, knees deep in bubbles, the bathroom flooded with mountains of bubbles, the halls leaking bubbles, even the toilet filled with bubbles…”

“And this was at your apartment?”

“Oh, God, no. This was at Mabel’s medical facility.”

“Oh no!”

“Oh yes. And it took  _ three hours  _ to clean up.”

Harley laughed. “That sounds horrible.”

“Oh, it was. A big pain in the ass to clean too.”

“Well, kids do find their ways to make the biggest messes.”

“Oh, no, I made the bubble mess.”

Harley’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“Okay, in my defense, I didn’t know that leaving the jacuzzi setting would do that, but I went to grab my phone from the kitchen, and when I came back…”

“Peter!”

“I know, I know. I am a reckless, bad influence,” Peter said holding up his hands.

“I wouldn’t say  _ that _ …” Harley started.

“Oh what _would_ you say?”

“Maybe just a  _ little  _ less smart than I gave you credit for.”

“Uh, excuse you. My two pHds and Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award at twenty one could say otherwise.”

Harley scoffed. “Show off.”

“I’ve got a lot to show off,” Peter said, waggling his eyebrows. 

“Brains and a body? Leave something for guys like me, Parker.”

Peter flushed, the words making his brain short-circuit momentarily. “So, what do you think of the food?”

“You were right. These are damn good lemongrass beef wraps. And those spring rolls are sinful. Especially in the fish sauce.”

“No one does fish sauce like here. Except, maybe actual Vietnam.”

Harley laughed again. “Good to know. You’ve been?”

“Did a lot of traveling with my wife,” Peter said. “She liked to tell me the twisted history of all the places we visited.”

Harley’s smile faltered. “You haven’t mentioned her before.”

Peter looked up, face unreadable. “I… I don’t usually talk about her. It… I just… I’ve never felt comfortable enough to.”

“I’m glad you feel comfortable with me,” Harley said softly.

“She made me go to the Hoa Lo Prison after we took a boat ride on the Ha Long Bay. It was built by the French in the late 1800s as ‘Maison Centrale,’ but was used as a detention center for US pilots captured by the Vietnamese,” Peter said.

“Shit,” Harley breathed.

“She found that stuff really interesting. Always believed that the dark history made the good stuff mean more, and it was important to know both.”

“Sounds like she knew what she was talking about,” Harley said.

“She always knew how to win a conversation, especially with someone who was ignorant. She was just so intelligent and eloquent. She was one of the few people who could always understand the complexity of a person. She was a lawyer. Pro bono. Really good at what she did. She just knew how to understand people.”

“Abby was like that,” Harley said quietly. “Maybe not like that, but, she knew people, maybe in a different way. She was an optimist, though a stubborn optimist. At first glance, she could seem a bit of a nihilist, but she did believe in a better future. She was a bit of an activist, her and her wife. She wanted to believe in the best in the world, wanted to prove the humanity in those that didn’t give a damn about her, but she was strong, and if she was proven wrong, she picked herself up and she proved that she was stronger wrong than she’d ever be ‘right.’ She was an advocate for those with no advocacy. Loved volunteering. She was just… good.”

“She sounds really great.”

“She was. She was the best. She always knew… she knew better than I did. Had better judgement. Picked up on things I didn’t. As much as she believed in the good in people, she knew when people weren’t good. A bit of a paradox, I suppose. She picked up on red flags. She picked up on people’s subtle hints of…” He shook his head. “She was the kind of person who could cut someone out but still forgive them. It was a balance I’ve never had. If she were still around, maybe I…” He shook his head again. “Anyways. This is a very morbid conversation to have over lunch, and I’m not sure I’m ready for it just yet, so…”

“Of course,” Peter said. “It takes time. And the time doesn’t heal all wounds. There will always be a piece of you that holds on. I’ve had a lot of loss in my life, and it never gets easier, but I… you’ll find your way. I know you will.”

Harley smiled. “Thanks, Peter.”

As Peter and Harley exited the small hole in the wall restaurant, Harley found himself interlocking his finger’s with Peters, giving a tentative squeeze.

Peter grinned sweetly and Harley, squeezing back.

Harley swung Peter’s arm as they walked, habit from walking with Ollie, a dopey smile on his face.

“This was really nice,” he said.

“Yeah, it was,” Peter replied, an equally bright grin on his lips.

“We should do this again,” Harley stated.

“I’d love to,” Peter said, heart blooming with warmth.

As they approached the tower, Peter felt a twinge of sadness now that their day was over.

“Thank you for this. For everythin’,” Harley said.

“I should be thanking you. You… you have given me something simple and normal in my crazy life, and I can’t thank you enough.”

Harley studied Peter’s expression, eyes darting between his soft eyes and his lips that he bit nervously.

Harley tentatively leant in, cupping Peter’s cheek in his calloused hand. Peter’s eyes fluttered shut as he followed, lips meeting Harley’s cold, chapped ones, the sweet remnants of shirley temple meeting extra sugary lemonade.

It was soft and hesitant and shy, testing the waters and not going too far considering they were standing outside the building they worked at in a busy Manhattan street. 

Peter’s arms looped around Harley’s neck and he ran a slow hand through his hair.

“You fucking whore!”

Harley jumped away from Peter, face blanching.

A tall, salt and pepper haired stranger stalked over to the two. “So this what you been up to, huh?” 

Peter stepped between Harley and the stranger. “Hey, man, I don’t know who you think you are, but…”

“Who I am? Who the  _ fuck  _ do you think  _ you _ are, you fucking homewrecker.” He turned to face Harley. “This why you left? Because you were fuckin’ around with this little twink? Well, I oughta…” He stepped forward, clearly aiming to swing at Harley.

Peter blocked his punch, keeping him away from Harley and taking the hits easily.

“You can’t just come here and threaten a man that…”

“You don’t get to fuckin’ tell me what to do you, you little bitch!” He looked to Harley. “You know, I knew you were weak, but I didn’t think that you were such a little slut that you would leave your fucking husband just for a hot piece of ass.”

Peter snapped to face Harley. “Husband?”

Harley, cheeks stained with tears and lip quivering, stammered. “Peter, please, I… look out!”

Peter blocked the punch without looking, his built in premonition kicking in without him realizing. He tightened his grip on his wrist, but not too tight, despite everything in his being craving to do so. “Here’s what you’re going to do,” he told the man. “You’re gonna leave this campus, and you’re not going to come back because I can and will not hesitate to call the security, and I will have good reason considering you have threatened and assaulted two employees. And, if I so much as see you come near this building, you will get more than the courtesy of being thrown out.” He stepped in close. “Do you understand?”

“Fuck you,” he spat, both in his tone and literally in his Peter’s face.

Peter wiped his face. “Get out of here.” He lowered his voice into a growl. “ _ Now _ .”

Clearly disgruntled and unsatisfied, the man stomped away, running through the crowds in the opposite direction.

Peter spun around to Harley, who trembled like a leaf in the wind, a loud sob escaping his lips as his knees, weak and wobbly, collapsed beneath him.

Peter ran to him, steadily bringing him down to the ground and holding him tight as he cried harshly, the sound echoing in Peter’s brain, forever cementing itself into his memory.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Harley kept repeating.

Peter shushed him gently, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re gonna be alright.”

Though he knew they were drawing curious eyes, Peter shielded Harley’s face, buried it close to his chest so he could hear the steady beat of his heart.

Once his breathing settled, and his tears were now slowing silently, Peter took a gentle hand and turned Harley to face him.

“You alright?” he whispered softly.

“I’m sorry. For all of this.”

“Hey now. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“Why are you?” Harley asked.

Peter felt his chest tighten. “Because I wouldn’t just leave you.”

“Oh,” Harley said, as if he hadn’t considered that an option.

“Can you tell me who that was? So I can make sure I know if I see him again?”

Harley took a shaky breath. “That’s… he’s… that’s my husband. His name is Joseph. We… we uh, we…” His breath quickened rapidly.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Take your time. We’ve got time.”

Harley licked his dry lips, head pounding. “We met when I was in grad school. He was… God, he was so much older than me, but I was twenty two and naive and I actually thought he… and… he was thirty six when I was twenty two and I thought I… he told me that I was so mature and intelligent and always built me up. And he made me feel so… and I fell for him. It was so easy to fall for his words. We got married so fast and I… I really thought he… and it was fine. 

“When we were dating it was fine. But when we got married he… he would sneak things into conversation. Things that I could improve. Things that I wasn’t allowed to do anymore. People I couldn’t see and places I couldn’t go without him. Then it built up to him telling me how worthless I was and how I wouldn’t be able to survive without him and how much I needed him, and I believed him. I felt like I…

“And then he started to hit me. And I… I just loved him so much, and I felt so worthless that I felt like I deserved it. And I… he made me feel like I deserved it.

“But then Abby died and I got Oliver, and then Joseph had something to hold over me. I… God. I wanted kids so bad, and he felt like a blessing, and I thought that maybe it would give us a new start. Make him love me the way he loved me again. But instead, he blamed me for Oliver keeping him up at night and all of my time dedicated to Oliver. The money I was wasting on the baby and the… how I wasn’t giving out as easily because I didn’t want to wake him. 

“So it got worse. And he hit me more, now for more reasons I felt were my fault. But then, when Oliver was four, he, Oliver I mean, I… well, I don’t know what he did, but Joseph hit him, and I… I knew then that we had to leave. It was the last straw I think. For years, I thought I was protecting him by staying, by being the one that Joseph took it out on as long as he didn’t get hurt, but when he… I knew we couldn’t stay.

“So I ran. I transferred and I got far away from Tennessee. I changed everything connecting me to my old life except for my name, but I guess I… that article must've shown him where I was and now he’s found me and now I have to leave and I’m sorry but I can’t stay when he knows that I…”

“Hey, hey. You don’t have to leave.”

“Yes, I do. You don’t understand. You don’t know him. He’ll kill us both now that he knows we’re here,” Harley pleaded.

“I’m not letting him get anywhere near you two,” Peter said firmly.

“He’s gonna hurt you. Oh God, he’s gonna hurt you too now. Peter. You have to, I, I, I can’t let him…”

“He’s not gonna hurt anyone,” Peter said. “Harley. We are gonna make sure he never gets  _ near  _ you and Ollie.”

“How?” Harley asked, looking up to him with bloodshot eyes.

“We’ll schedule a mediated, supervised visitation to prepare a divorce. I’ll be there with you the whole time as well if it makes you feel safer. Then, you’re going to place a restraining order to make sure he legally can’t come after you. You and Ollie are going to move in with us until this all blows over.”

“We can’t…”

“Yes, you can, and I’m absolutely insisting. My penthouse has some of the most advanced security in all of New York. And we will talk to Ollie’s school to ensure that they will never let Joseph get into the building, no matter what he insists. It’s gonna be okay. Okay? It’s gonna be okay.”

“I don’t know how I could possibly thank you.”

“You don’t have to. I’m doing this because you deserve to feel safe and happy. I’m doing this because you matter to me, and I don’t want anything happening to you. I’m doing this because Ollie is like family now and so are you. So, let me help you. Let me make you feel safe.” He held his hand. “We’ll leave work together every day so you always have protection. My aunt picks up Benny every day from school and she can pick up Ollie too. We’ll make sure that Ollie always has a trusted adult with him and so do you. We’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you so much, Peter.”

“Of course,” Peter said, rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand.

“I should call the school,” Harley said, pushing himself to stand.

“You don’t have to do anything right now.”

“For all I know he’s on his way to his school right now! I can’t… I can’t let  _ anything  _ happen to Oliver. I can’t. I couldn’t live with myself if I… I can’t.”

“Okay. Let’s go back to your workshop. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“You have work…”

“I’m the boss. I can take some free time.”

Harley paused, considering what he said. “Okay. Okay, we’ll… okay.”

Peter gave his arm an encouraging squeeze. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry to say that this is the last chapter I'm going to be posting for this fic for a while. The first six chapters were prewritten and I started posting because of the collection debut, but I'm currently working on a very big project that is taking up all my free time when I am not preparing for my move in my IRL life, so I really don't know when I'm going to update this again, and I'm very sorry for that considering where I just left off. I really hope that I do get back to it, but I can't make promises that I can't keep. 
> 
> If you want to chat, my Tumblr is [official-impravidus](https://official-impravidus.tumblr.com/)
> 
> If you want to join a Parkner Discord, click [here!](https://discord.gg/vztSVpg)

**Author's Note:**

> [russian translation!](https://ficbook.net/readfic/9582187)


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